[TowerTalk] Wire antenna recommendation

[Scott Honaker]

Our Emergency Operations Center received a "standard Winlink package" that
consisted of an Icom IC-M802, AT-140, wire and an SCS TNC.  We mounted the
tuner at high on our 40' tower as the tuner control cable would allow.  The
ground side is connected to the tower and the input side goes to a wire
stretched west along the building.  Our single-story building runs/east west
and the tower is along the north side only 30' from the east edge.

 

Our EOC is located at a secondary regional airport (along with Boeing
Everett) and there is plenty of RF noise.  On our second tower we have an HF
voice station antenna - a 80m/40m dipole (also running east/west).  This
runs into a Yaesu FT-897 and tuner that is MUCH quieter.

 

I'm trying to identify a multiband solution that could provide a lower noise
floor/better performance for use with that equipment on Winlink.  I'm
thinking some kind of OCF dipole thing into the tuner would give me better
results (along with extending the control cable to allow for mounting at the
top of the tower).  Although there's only 30' east of the tower, we have
over 100' west.  I don't have any real-world experience with these tuners.
I was hoping someone here could give me a brilliant solution.

 

Thanks,

 

Scott N7SS

Snohomish RACES - WA7DEM